I would like to introduce you to another friend, Adam Shank. He introduced himself to me last week. He is from Ohio, and has a connection to the university I teach at. Adam is the cousin of Katie, Kendall, and Kalyn Lean, all three of whom graduated or will graduate from Mid-Atlantic Christian University (MACU).
Adam is about to finish at Cedarville University, Cedarville, Ohio. He plans to become a Bible translator with Wycliffe Bible Translators and is beginning his Hebrew studies here at the Ulpan. So many Bible translators and support personnel are needed. I am so pleased that we at MACU have in place a degree in Applied Linguistics, in conjunction with the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics (GIAL), which can put Bible translators on the field 12-18 months faster than not having the major.
Since we went to church on Shabbat, and since Shabbat turned out not to be very restful, we did not go to church today, we studied. I spent most of the day studying on the veranda of the Qabala (Reception Office). Usually the days are hot (mid- to upper 80s), with low humidity. Day there was a nice cool breeze all day. The Veranda is covered. I showed you pictures in an earlier blog: it overlooks a valley eastward to Mevasseret and Jerusalem. There was the chirping of birds, the fluttering of sparrows to gather small scraps of food dropped by people or twigs for nesting. It was very enjoyable.
In the evening, another student named Joshua, Peter, and I decided to walk to a nearby Arab village. The Jews of the Kibbuts and the Arabs of the village get along well and are friendly to tourists. A number of the young Arabs work at the Kibbutz. Often we can hear the Muslim prayers echoing up the valley from the village. We thought we knew the way, but there were many paths. We walked through the Tzuba vineyard. The trail wound around following the terraces of the land. At one point I was able to take a picture of the village. We eventually made our way to the village, but the only way into the city from the grassy path we took was through someone's private property. We did not want to walk through a yard, and decided that we didn't have time to make any sort of visit, without having to walk in unfamiliar territory in the dark. So, we just walked back to the Kibbutz. We will make another trek and actually make it into the village.
The trip was not a waste, however. I took a couple of pictures of the vineyard. The Hebrew for "vineyard" is kerem (accented on the first syllable). You may recall that there is a biblical place name called Beth haKerem, "house of the Vineyard." We saw what was either a fox or a jackal. It saw us too, and I was unable to get my camera out soon enough. We also saw a gazelle (Hebrew: tz'bi). It kept its distance as well, but I did get this photo. The gazelle is in the center. The antlers are different than a deer's, and the way they walk and run is different. It's difficult to describe; perhaps they seem more deliberate in their movements. I'm sorry the photo is no better. We may try again to get evening photos of animals of the area.
Finally, I've mentioned that we are learning Hebrew songs. One of them is Ps 37:5. Using songs to memorize Scripture makes the task quite a bit easier. A literal translation would be, "Roll upon the Lord your way, and trust upon him; and he will act." I was having trouble getting a mental image of the first clause, in Hebrew: Gol `al Adnonai darkeka. I know how to roll something upon the floor, but how do you roll something upon the Lord? Checking Peter's computer Bible revealed that this verb is not usually followed by the preposition `al, "upon." Peter and I observed the teacher commanding students in the Jonah class, Gol eth ha-bakbuk, in English, "Roll the bottle." In Ps 37:5, "your way" is the direct object. Not too difficult, but what does it mean to "roll upon the Lord"? While looking for something else, I came across Jeremiah 11:20. Jeremiah is complaining to the Lord and he says, according to a possible reading of the verse, "For to you (Hebrew preposition 'el) I have rolled my case." That's when I understood. There is much overlap in meaning between the prepositions 'el, "to," and `al, "upon." The psalmist is probably using `al here because he also uses it with the verb "trust." The psalmist is commanding the reader to roll his way to the Lord.
"Way" in Scripture is a common metaphor for life or lifestyle or manner of life (e.g., Ps 1:1). We are not supposed to carry the burdens of life ourselves; instead we are to roll our life to the Lord as we might roll a bottle or a ball to someone. To do this is to turn over the control of our lives, with all its cares and worries, to the Lord. Then he has possession of our life. The second command is to trust upon him. The third clause gives the emphatic result: "And he will act." He will not take the bottle from us; we must roll it to him and trust him. Which would you rather trust: your own human power, or the Lord, the Creator of the universe?
Adonai `immakem! (Boaz greeting his workers, Ruth 2:4)
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